1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rule-based storage and reproduction of data and, more particularly, to the use of rules in selecting data for reproduction by a reproduction device, the reproduction being coordinated by a unit attached to a reproduction device which is capable of reading a portable memory device having stored information corresponding to the reproduction data and processing the rules for reproduction data selection.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a computer network environment, personal computers, workstations and I/O (Input/Output) devices such as printers, scanners, facsimile machines, copies, digital cameras, etc. are interconnected. Advantageously, networked I/O devices are accessible via the network to a network computer user such that the user may select from a number of devices to perform an I/O operation.
However, a disadvantage of the conventional network approach is that a user must specify a device at the time of the I/O operation. That is, the selection of data is coupled with the selection of the device during an I/O operation. As a result, the data is then formatted for use by the selected device. To use another device, it is necessary to use a separate I/O request to reselect the data and to choose another I/O device.
For example, in a Windows environment, to output data such as a word processing document, a user typically initiates the operation within the document using a dialog panel that contains the user's settings including the I/O device that is to output the document. When the request is submitted, the data that is to be output is formatted for the selected device and forwarded to the output device. The user cannot change the output device designation after submitting the print request. The format of the output data is dictated by the device selection. Thus, there is no ability to dynamically reformat the data for the other device. Once it is formatted, the data is sent to the selected device for output. To output the data to another device, it is necessary to initiate another request and designate the other device.
In a case of an input operation such as that involving a scanner, for example, a data file is generated that contains image data. It may be desirable to use the image data with an I/O device that does not support the image data's format. Thus, it would be necessary to initiate the I/O operation within an application that is able to read the data file and selecting the desired device.
Further, it is necessary to install an I/O device in a computer system before a computer user may use the device in an I/O operation. For example, in Windows98, the “Add Printer” function is used to add an entry in the system's registry of printers and to install a printer driver for use with the printer. Since, under the conventional approach, a user must specify both the data and the device at the same time, it is not possible to designate a device that has not previously been installed on the user's system.
The Internet Print Protocol (IPP) that is being developed through the Printer Working Group in accordance with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) allows a user to print to remote printers across the Internet or an intranet. Further, it is possible to print by reference, or print a document by referring to the document's URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).
However, before a printer may be used for the first time, the end user must locate the desired printer on the Internet/intranet and then create a local instance of the printer on the user's system and install a printer driver. Once the desired printer has been located and installed, the user may print to the printer from local applications (i.e., applications running on the user's computer system) such as browser, word processing, spreadsheet, etc. applications. The print data is formatted and sent via the Internet/intranet to the designated printer.
IPP provides a means to locate, install and use remote printers in a manner similar to using a local printer. Further, like the previously-discussed approach, the user must specify the remote printer when initiating the print. The data is formatted based on the user's designation at the time the print job is initiated by the user. There is no provision to redirect the request to another device or to dynamically reformat the data to accommodate such a redirection.
Another approach for accessing an I/O device consists of an apparatus that reads a PCMCIA card containing a user's identification. The user identification is used to determine a forwarding location for input information and a directory on the apparatus that contains a user's output for a device connected to the apparatus. In Japanese laid-open Patent 9-261486, a network system is described that consists of an apparatus that interfaces with a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card, a client computer and a peripheral device. The apparatus stores user information and is capable of temporarily storing I/O data. The PCMCIA card contains a user identification that is used by the apparatus to access user information stored in the apparatus such as the location of data stored on the apparatus and an identification of the user's client terminal.
Where the apparatus is connected to an input device, the input is directed to a previously-specified location identified in the user information stored in the memory of the apparatus. Where the apparatus receives output data from a user, the apparatus stores the data in its memory until the user's PCMCIA card is inserted at the apparatus.
More particularly, when output data is received, the apparatus searches its database to determine the user's directory and temporarily stores the data in the directory associated with the user identification accompanying the output data. When the user's PCMCIA card is inserted in the apparatus, the user identification is retrieved and used to identify the directory that contains the user's output files(s). Each file that is stored in the user's directory on the apparatus is transmitted to the connected output device for output by the device.
In the case of an output request, the user identifies the device at the time the output request is submitted. Once the user designates the device that is to output the desired data, the user is not able to alter the device designation. Further, there is no provision for forwarding the output to another output device or to ensure that the data is formatted for a given output device.
There is no mechanism in the above-described approaches for limiting or otherwise selecting the file or files stored in the user's directory based on selection criteria defined by the user. As more and more files are being stored, a mechanism for avoiding those files that are not currently of interest to the user would be beneficial.